


Understanding Night Vale

by ShowMeAHero



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Arby's, Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, One Year Later, The Lights Above The Arby's Also, but from Carlos' PoV, headcanons galore, if that makes sense, third person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 02:01:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing really makes very much sense, but hearing Cecil talk about him after the attack clears things up a bit, and watching the lights above the Arby's with Cecil almost makes Night Vale make sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Understanding Night Vale

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for "One Year Later" (ep. 25).

The day had been long. Longer than most, even factoring in the lack of any actual way to measure time inside the town limits. Carlos pocketed his phone and leaned back against the back windshield of his car, stretching his legs out before letting his feet touch the gravel of the parking lot. He stared at the setting sun and wondered, absently, if this was the same sun that the rest of the world saw, or if the sun even existed at all. He sat up and straightened himself out when he heard the crunch of gravel at the entrance of the parking lot. Cecil’s beat-up junker of a car pulled in and parked to the side, and Cecil was out of the driver’s seat before the car had a chance to start cooling.

Carlos took the chance to look Cecil over as he approached. He must have just come from the studio, because his blonde, usually slicked-back hair was a mess, he had a coffee stain on his pinstripe slacks, near his knee, and there were a couple ink spots on the bone of his wrist. His sleeves were shoved up past his elbows, revealing the ends of many dimly glowing tattoos. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, his tie was loosened and twisted to the side. His sweater vest, vibrantly purple and patterned in abstracts, was unfamiliar to Carlos, and he almost smiled. Cecil very nearly smiled for him, but his face quickly took on an expression of distinct worry when he caught sight of Carlos’ face. Carlos realized, for the first time, that he must look dreadful; his hands still had a shake, and he knew he was covered in injuries. He stared up at Cecil anyways.

“What is it?” Cecil asked, a slight tremble of panic in his voice. “Wh-What danger are we in? What _mystery_ needs to be _explored_?”

Carlos shook his head. “Nothing. After everything that happened..." Carlos paused, deliberated briefly, and decided to just be honest. "I just wanted to see you.”

Cecil’s whole face lit up, and a violently red blush spread across his cheeks. His tattoos began glowing brighter; Carlos squinted slightly, but Cecil hardly seemed to notice. Cecil took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Oh?” Cecil said, though his voice was shaking so bad it was almost difficult to distinguish. Carlos felt his heartbeat pick up quite a bit, and he averted his eyes. He allowed himself to focus on the sunset beyond Cecil.

“I used to think it was setting at the wrong time, but then I realized... that time doesn’t work in Night Vale, and that none of the clocks are real.” Carlos’ eyes tracked across the horizon, taking in the bleeding colors. _Everything bleeds here._ “Sometimes, things seem so strange or malevolent, and then you find that... underneath... it was something else altogether, something pure and innocent.” Carlos looked over at Cecil for a split moment before returning his attention to the sunset.

“I know what you mean,” Cecil replied quietly. Carlos shifted on the trunk, sliding over to the left a bit and motioning to the spot beside him. Cecil took the offered spot. His long legs reached the ground far more easily than Carlos’ did. He followed Carlos’ gaze to where the sunset was just disappearing, and the stars were becoming far more visible, as well as the strange lights above the Arby’s and the universe beyond them all. Carlos hesitated for the briefest of moments before he reached over and let his hand settle on Cecil’s knee. Cecil turned to look at him, but Carlos refused to look back, keeping his eyes focused forward and above their heads. Cecil nodded once and let his head rest on Carlos’ shoulder.

Carlos felt suddenly that he understood those lights above the Arby’s. He likely would not tomorrow, in the light of day; he would realize, in the morning, that he did not understand even more than he understood. But, there, with the weight of Cecil’s head on his shoulder and Cecil’s leg warm under his palm, Night Vale very nearly made sense. Cecil breathed steadily, and he said nothing - a first, for him. Carlos let his cheek press to the top of Cecil’s head, and they sat in silence, just the two of them. The lights above the Arby’s twinkled.

_Wait, they never twinkled before. That’s a new one._

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me on Twitter at [@nicoIodeon](https://twitter.com/nicoIodeon) or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


End file.
